Creating an Effective Job Posting
You’re looking to hire, and we’re looking to help!
The NYFA Classifieds job board receives 30+ brand new listings each day. On average, 2,900 users search the site daily looking for new opportunities. How can your listing stand out and attract the right applicants? We’ve compiled a few tips to help you create a strong job posting.
Maximize Search Functions
Make your title search friendly by using relevant keywords. For example, if you want to hire someone for a role that primarily involves marketing, include the word “marketing” in the job title. This will ensure that when users search for the word “marketing” to narrow down the list of jobs, your listing pops up.
Utilize an Outline
- Job Summary (3-4 Sentences): A top level summary, including measures for success, of the job. Be straightforward and provide the information needed to entice potential applicants to keep reading!
- Essential Job Duties & Responsibilities: Utilize a bulleted list to describe essential duties and responsibilities associated with the open position. Give job seekers a sense of their daily tasks, as well as big-picture goals.
- Required Skills & Experience: This is where you can narrow down the pool of applicants to only those that are qualified for the position you’re hoping to fill. Use this section to highlight any skills or experiences that are absolutely required, such as technical expertise or educational background. If there is some flexibility, point that out. For example, instead of requiring that applicants have a Bachelor’s degree, there may be work experience that is more reflective of whether or not they will be successful in the role. If applicants know what skills or experiences you’re looking for, they can speak to relevant experiences and will have a better chance of standing out as your top candidates.
- Company Culture & Values: What about your company or the work that you do might inspire or entice job seekers? Do you offer competitive benefits (insurance, vacation time, etc.) or special perks (staff lunches, dog-friendly office, etc.)? This is a great way to share a few additional reasons why top candidates should choose to respond to your listing, as opposed to others.
Brush up on Labor Guidelines
Labor guidelines help to make workplaces more accommodating and accessible for an array of potentially valuable employees. When we are vetting NYFA Classifieds listings, we often reference the resources below to help ensure that our job board is populated with opportunities that promote accessibility and ensure reasonable accommodations. We hope these resources are also helpful for you as you strive create an accessible and fair workplace.
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Discrimination by Type
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Pre-Employment Inquiries and Citizenship
- NYS Wage Requirements for Interns in Not-for-Profit Businesses
- NYS Wage Requirements for Interns in For-Profit Businesses
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Prohibited Employment Policies/Practices
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Job Applicants and the Americans with Disabilities Act
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Reasonable Accommodation
Common Faux Pas
- Internships should be structured around educating the intern. So, we look for internship listings that indicate the educational benefits to be gained by the intern. One way is through ensuring you can offer school credit where it is applicable and mentioning this in the post.
- Remember that interns cannot fulfill the same duties as paid staff and should always be under close supervision.
- Employers cannot indicate that the intern will be entitled to a job after their internship has ended.
- Internships should not be used as a required step before being hired.
- Use of the word “young” or “recent graduates,” indicates that the employer may discriminate by age, which will not be approved on our job board.
- Asking for images of applicants is always inappropriate, as this may lead to discrimination based on race, etc.
- Employers should avoid generally requiring physical strength from potential employees and instead specify how many pounds, for example, will need to be lifted in order to perform the basic functions of the job. Keep in mind that reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities is required by the employer.
- Double check for spelling and/or grammatical errors. Applicants appreciate seeing that you’ve put effort into the job posting. This is their first impression of you and right now the listing is one of their only indications of how you may treat them as an employee.
- Use the ‘Application Instructions’ section wisely. If writing is an essential component of the position, have them send a cover letter or writing sample. If personality is important, have them answer a few creative questions about themselves. Will they need to draw, sculpt, or create in other media? Ask them to submit work samples. Is phone presence important? Start off the interview process with a brief phone call.
Additional Resources
Here are a few additional resources that may be useful as you craft your job postings, as well as a sample listing created by our team based on the tips above:
How to Write Effective Job Postings: Job Description and Skills
LinkedIn – 7 Tips for an Irresistible Job Description
Good luck! As always, thank you for using NYFA Classifieds and for helping us to keep the job board a professional and valuable source for the creative communities we serve.
This post is part of a regular blog series, NYFA Creative Careers. Let us know what other topics you’d like to learn more about by visiting us on Twitter, at @nyfacurrent, and using the hashtag #NYFACreativeCareers.
Find a variety of jobs on NYFA Classifieds.
– Molly Martin, Account Manager, Classifieds
Image: Zoe Schade (Fellow in Painting ‘15)
